Alexander htjtchinson



V UNITED] STATES PATENT CFFICE- ALEXANDER HUTCHINSON, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

RUBBER sHoE.

`SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 251,?82, dated January 3, 1882. Application filed August 20, 1881. (No model.) Patented in France July 23, 1881.

To all whom tt maycmcern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER HUTCHIN- SON, a citizen ofthe United States of America, residing at Paris, in the Department of the Seine, in the Republic of France, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rubber Shoes, (for which I have obtained a patent in the Republic of France under date of July 23, 1881,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object the manufacture of a rubber shoe that in form and appearance shall be an exact imitation of the Chinese shoe, with its thick sole and Without exceeding ormaterially exceeding its Weight; and to that end the invention consists in the relative arrangement and combination of the various soles of the shoe with the upper and lining,

Figure l shows the rubber shoe in elevation, and Fig. 2 a transverse section on line .s x 'of Fig. l.

In carry ing out my invention I first attach to the form or last an insole,`c, of iibrous rubber. Then I apply a lining,b, of knit fabric, that is glued or cemented to the insole a, and extends over the inner face of the upperf. Next I apply a felt sole of one or more thicknesses, according to the thickness it is desired to give to the sole, which feltsole c is firmly connected to the lining b by means of a strip, d, of cotton, linen, or other suitable fabric, coated with rubber. This done, I surround thewhole of the sole with a strip of fibrous rubber, e, in order to impart to the sole the necessary rigidity; and, lastly, I apply the exterior sole, g, and the upperf in the same manner as is done with ordinary rubber shoes, after which the shoe is ready to undergo theusual process of vulcanization. t

Instead of a felt sole, a sole of any other suitable light materialsuch as horse or other hair, or cork,'or analogo ussubstances-may be employed. t

It will, ofcourse, be understood that the various thicknesses of the soles and linings may be varied, and yet preserve the greatest thickness for the intermediate lighter felt sole,

while the upper may be made of any other material than rubber, such as cotton, Wool, silk, or other like fabrics.

The felt or lighter intermediate sole is preferably compressed in order to give it the necessarystiii'ness; but the pressure applied should not be such as to deprive said sole of its lightness.

If desired, the shoe may receive, when finished, a coat of paint along the sole, the same as the Chineseshoe.

It will alsobe understood that the Chinese shoe may be constructed in this manner, and that such .construction may be adapted in the manufacture of boots.

l am aware that attempts have been made to manufacture rubber shoes in imitation ofthe Chinese shoe; but such attempts, so far as they have come to my knowledge, have proven failures, inasmuch as they resulted in a product entirely too heavy, arising both from the materials employed and from the imperfectlyunderstood proportions of soles and their com,

bination `with the other parts of the shoe. A

\ I am also aware that cork, felt, and analogous materials have heretofore been employed for insoles, and I do not desire to claim such,

broadly, nor do I desire to claim a shoe that in form is like a Chinese shoe.

Having now described my invention, what l claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat- A ent, isV l A rubber shoe composed of an upper, j', and

an outer sole, g, both of rubber, a fibrous-rub ber insole, a, a lining, b, of knit fabric, athick so'le, c, of` felt or other analogous light material, a retaining-strip, d, and the fasteningv strip or lining e, all combined and arranged substantially as shown and described.

In Witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of July, 41881.

ALEXANDER HUTCHINSON. 

